


White Walls

by futureimperfect



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captivity, F/F, One Shot, Stockholm Syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-13
Updated: 2013-09-13
Packaged: 2017-12-26 12:08:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/965757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/futureimperfect/pseuds/futureimperfect
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One shot, written for the femslash_Kink meme on Dreamwidth for the prompt: "Regina/Belle- Stockholm Syndrome."</p>
            </blockquote>





	White Walls

Minutes, hours, days, they all fade and melt together in a haze of white walls and frosted glass.  Sometimes she thinks she’s been there for a lifetime, but just as quickly as the thought forms it dissipates into the next.  The time is marked only by two things- her meals, dropped on the small table by the door by yet another figure swathed in hazy white…..and _Her_.

 

 _Her_.  She might have a name, but as soon as it’s spoken, Belle can’t remember it any more than she can remember her own.  All she knows is that she’s beautiful, and she’s vibrant.  She’s a welcome mirage of color in her world of white. When she gets brave enough to touch to see if the vision is real, she’s warm, so warm it makes her own hands feel like ice.  

 

At first, she thinks….even those memories won’t stay with her... _She_ just stood there- out of reach and watched.  What she was watching, Belle couldn’t tell.  Those dark eyes just roamed over her body. If she had to guess, she’d say it was a look of long-planned satisfaction, the culmination of a well-laid plan.  Then _She’d_ leave, and with each passing moment the memory would fade, leaving her rocking at the corner of her cot, eyes closed trying to hold on to the last shreds of the vision.

 

Later….at least she assumed it was later... _She’d_ move across the room.  Belle’s body quickened, conditioned by her presence, each time She as much as smiled. Her bright red lips would part just enough to show perfect teeth.  To Belle, it was radiant, and it was more than enough to wash away any last fear.  Belle would be pressed back against the bed by firm hands on her shoulders.  She welcomed the hands, the lips, that sought to take her and possess her.  

 

When it was over, and the last tremors of pleasure subsided, she’d feel safe for just a few precious moments before the inevitable departure.   _She’d_ speak in soft, assured tones though Belle could never later remember what was said.  But to her, it was like the rise and fall of a symphony- though a requiem, played to her last shred of sanity.

 

As quickly as _She_ arrived, _She’d_ leave.  Then Belle would curl into herself, and the tears would start again, the moments fading and blending together until _She_ returned.   

 

~~~~~~~~~~~

 

In a moment, Belle’s world had transformed from whitewash to stark contrasts in a haze of purple smoke.  The euphoria or remembering, then the anger at forgetting had rolled in with it.  She should be furious like the rest of them, she should want nothing more than to take her revenge, stand at Rumple’s side and watch the Evil Queen punished.  But then night had fallen and the silence crept in.  She felt hollow, alone again with her spiraling thoughts and half-remembered pain and confusion.  

 

Against all reason, she found herself standing on Regina’s front step.  Behind her, a cold rain was falling over the town, wind beginning to lash at the branches of the trees.  She raised her hand to knock on the door, but it swung inward of it’s own accord, revealing the figment from so many of her half-lucid dreams.  At the sight, Belle’s voice caught in her throat, and all the recriminations and damnations she’d planned to say wouldn’t come.

 

Regina regarded her, looking as regal as mayor as Belle ever remembered she did as the Queen. Silently, she stepped back half a pace, eyes never leaving Belle's. It was foolish, some would say dangerous, but Belle couldn’t stop herself. She moved in concert, stepping into the house to be closer to this woman who had kidnapped her, imprisoned her in one life and the next, lied to her in the most painful way, and cursed a kingdom.

 

And yet, in that moment all she wanted to do was to go to her.  Something in her subconscious echoed back to that white room and the loneliness that only this woman had been able to chase away.  She wanted to be held, kept from the reality they’d all been dropped in- this strange and uncertain one where little made sense.

 

As she stepped closer, a rough voice rang out from the path behind the open door.  

 

“Belle…”

 

Belle flinched, but did not turn back.

 

Regina knew Rumple had seen it, that much was written in the look of horror on his features as he leaned on his cane in a manner that suggested his legs were suddenly of little use.  She knew her former teacher well enough to see the moment hit him hard, and mused for a moment whether his visions that had brought them all to this point had foreshadowed this. If they had, then he deserved the agony all the more.  

 

Belle made to look back over her shoulder, but before she could, Regina reached out a hand to still the girl’s cheek.  At the contact, a sigh escaped her lips.  Rumple watched, frozen, as Regina stroked her thumb over the soft skin she’d felt so many times before.  Belle, his Belle, all but melted into the touch and Regina’s hands threaded through Belle’s hair, smoothing her curls possessively.  He could just make out the soft words the other woman cooed under her breath as she drew Belle close.

 

“That’s my good girl, I knew you’d come back to me.  You’re safe now.”  

Over Belle's gently trembling shoulder, Regina’s eyes glanced to Rumple as he watched them through the rain. Her lips twisted into a vicious half-smile.  It was a moment he knew was as much for his pain as for Belle’s comfort, but he couldn’t look away.  Magic had chosen its price, and with a flick of the dark queen’s hand, the door blew shut and the lock clicked into place.    


End file.
